Account

Midlands agency PHM buys Wallis Tomlinson

An agency claiming to be the second largest in the Midlands is
being created with the takeover of the Birmingham agency Wallis
Tomlinson by Palmer Hargreaves Mint.

The combined operation will have estimated billings of £40 million
and will bring PHM's Ford of Europe dealership business and Wallis
Tomlinson's Subaru account under one roof.

However, Andrew Stanbridge, a director of PHM and a former Saatchi &
Saatchi senior executive, who becomes the group managing director,
denied the accounts were in conflict.

"Both clients have been spoken to and are content, he said. "PHM works
on aftersales for Ford, Jaguar and Land Rover, while Wallis Tomlinson
concentrates on new car sales for Subaru."

The marriage will give the Leamington Spa-based PHM a UK city centre
presence to complement its office in Cologne, which was set up to
service its Ford business.

It will also result in a combined client list, which includes Associated
British Foods, Johnson & Johnson, Kraft Foods, Samsung National Express
and Denby Pottery.

"For PHM the deal provides extra critical mass, an increased
above-the-line presence and an extended client list, Stanbridge added.
"Wallis Tomlinson gets access to the digital technology many of its
clients have been looking for. We believe McCann-Erickson Central is the
only Midlands agency now bigger than us."

Andrew Clift, PHM's managing director, will be the chief executive of
the group. George Wallis and Geoff Tomlinson, who founded Wallis
Tomlinson 12 years ago, take over as the chairman and executive creative
director respectively.

The two agencies, which will come together as Palmer Hargreaves Wallis
Tomlinson, will continue to operate separately for the next six months
before combining in new offices.

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